There is room for maneuver to improve the purchasing power of overseas residents, without penalizing local businesses or the finances of communities, believes Philibert Camus, a graduate in public affairs.
The question of the cost of living overseas is not new, but it remains no less painful and pressing. The average price of food fluctuates between 40% and 80% more expensive than in mainland France, and this gap has only increased over the past fifteen years. It is this continuous explosion in the cost of living which is at the origin of the conflagration since the beginning of September in Martinique. The damage caused by the rioters is significant: more than 500,000 euros, according to the Territorial Collectivity of Martinique (CTM) or even a 40% drop in turnover for traders in Fort-de-France.
These events are reminiscent of the massive strikes of 2009 which paralyzed the local economies of Guadeloupe and Martinique with respectively 44 and 38 days of uninterrupted strikes and led to the tragic death of a trade unionist. The measures obtained by the demonstrators through the Liyannaj Kont Pwofitasyon collective (“Collective against exploitation”) and local identity associations had enabled a return to order and serenity at the cost of significant and costly damage.
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For now, the level of violence of 2009 has not been reached. But should we wait until we find a similar situation before reacting? Addressing the deep roots of these inequalities with pragmatism and courage is the only way to avoid seeing past tragedies repeated, or even amplified. Especially in the age of social networks which act as a sounding board, it is much easier to mobilize the inhabitants of the flower island and the butterfly island. This is evidenced by the viral notoriety of Rodrigue Petitot, alias “Le R”, a former offender sentenced to prison for drug trafficking, who has become one of the symbols of the current popular movement. In order to rethink the overseas economy in a systemic way, by acting on fiscal, economic and legislative levers, it is appropriate to question the responsibility of dock dues and large-scale distribution in this economic crisis.
Overseas, not a distant extension of France
If the dock dues, a tax on products imported overseas, can legitimately be perceived as unfair, the fact remains that it makes it possible to finance local authorities and ensure their autonomy: 1.5 billion euros in revenue in 2022, a record. The removal of such a tax lever for everyone and everything would be radical and unjustified. It would be preferable, even urgent, to exempt basic necessities from this tax and to strengthen it on comfort goods in order to protect households while preserving the fragile balance of public finances in overseas communities.
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As for large stores, often accused of lacking transparency in setting prices, it seems unfair to shoot them with red bullets. As Stéphane Hayot, general manager of GBH (Bernard Hayot Group), clearly explained during his hearing at the National Assembly in May 2023, price differences with the mainland do not come from bad behavior on the part of companies, but rather from structural constraints whose main causes are the size of the markets and the geographical distance from sources of supply. Especially since the margins of local major retail players have reduced margins – between 1% and 3% – essentially identical to those in mainland France.
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This is why it is imperative, in consultation with all stakeholders, to exempt basic necessities from dock dues and to strengthen commercial relations with countries close to the DROMs, to enable them to obtain supplies more easily. with neighboring countries in the Caribbean or the Indian Ocean. We must also not ask local players in mass distribution to organize a general price reduction but impose on them a reduction in prices on a defined basket of essential products, a reduction which must necessarily be proportional to the removal of dock dues on these products. It is by acting on the price level without putting too much strain on public finances and without harming the competitiveness of local businesses that it will be possible to reconcile the preservation of employment, economic growth and a better life.
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It is time to stop considering overseas as a simple distant extension of France and to recognize its geographical, economic and social particularities. The high cost of living is symptomatic of a profound mismatch between uniform measures and island reality. Anger is brewing and will not subside until structural, just and lasting responses are provided.
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